Humax Freesat+ boxes hit by London 2012 Olympics glitch

Published Jul 27 2012, 17:18 BST  |  By Andrew Laughlin

Humax and Freesat have acknowledged that a technical problem has meant that owners of certain satellite digital TV boxes cannot record any of the BBC's special Olympic channels.

The corporation is running 24 live video streams throughout the duration of the Games as part of plans to cover every sport from every venue at London 2012.

Humax only sells one Freesat+ set top box in the UK with a personal video recorder functionality - the Foxsat-HDR - but it is understood to be one of the biggest sellers on the market.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Freesat - which has heavily promoted its "summer of subscription-free sport" - admitted that owners of Humax Freesat+ boxes currently cannot record the BBC's live streams.

The company said that users can still record Olympic action on the BBC One and BBC Three channels, and claimed that no Freesat+ boxes made by other manufacturers are affected by the problems.

"We're sorry to say that Humax can't currently fix the bug that prevents recording of the 24 Olympic Channels on their freesat+ box. We've tried really hard with Humax to sort out," said Freesat.

"You *can* record from BBC One & BBC Three. All other freesat+ boxes can record 24 streams. It's been an Olympic feat in itself to get the 24 streams working and we really hope this doesn't stop you enjoying London 2012. Sorry guys."

Speaking to the BBC, Humax's UK service manager Michael Caughey said that Humax was made aware of the fault on Tuesday (July 24), but has been unable to find a fix.

"Humax were made aware of the issue when the problem was identified on Tuesday," he said.

"Unfortunately nothing could be done at the broadcast encoder end to resolve the issue so on Thursday we started working on the fix and are hopeful that it is imminent.

"However, we will not rush it out until we are sure it will not cause more issues and problems as customers will still be able to view all 24 channels - although they can't record them - and will be able to record the Olympic coverage shown on BBC One HD, BBC HD and the other standard definition channels as normal."

In a post on Freesat's Facebook page, Humax UK said that a software update for affected Freesat+ boxes is on the way.

"For all those with a Humax box. It's looking positive that we can fix this bug for you," said the firm.

"We've already developed a software update and early tests indicate this is working correctly. Testing continues this afternoon and we will post on our Facebook page when we have confirmed dates/ timings for release."

The error has spawned a long discussion on the Digital Spy Freesat forum headed "Humax and/or BBC ruined my Olympics", with many users angry at missing out on the early coverage of the London 2012 Games.

A reader called Boatman posted: "I had it all planned, which events to watch live and which to record for viewing later. But now I find it is impossible to record any of the 24 Olympic channels. Thank you to whoever is to blame."

Have you been affected by the Humax/Freesat problems? Let us know in the comments below: